Former hostage Rom Braslavski has rejected a Channel 12 journalist's apology after a report on bereaved MKs omitted incoming MK Moshe Feiglin, whose grandson was killed fighting in Gaza. Braslavski accused the channel of hypocrisy and questioned whether the omission was politically motivated.
The report by Adi Zarifi focused on members of the new Knesset who lost family members during the war. However, it failed to mention Feiglin, whose grandson, Sgt. Yair Levin, fell in combat in southern Gaza at the age of 19.
Amid the online backlash, Zarifi issued an apology: "In the segment I presented on Ulpan Shishi about the new Knesset, Moshe Feiglin's name was inadvertently omitted from the list of MKs who lost a family member in the war. His grandson, Sgt. Yair Levin, fell in combat in southern Gaza at just 19 years old."
"We regret the omission, which was an honest mistake, and apologize to MK Feiglin and his family. May Yair's memory be a blessing," she added.
Zarifi also called for bereavement to be kept out of political disputes: "The loss suffered by bereaved families is an unfathomable abyss of pain that words cannot describe. I therefore hope this sacred subject will never again be used to speak ill of others."
Braslavski, however, was not convinced. In a sharply worded response, he questioned whether the omission was truly accidental.
"Adi Zarifi, your apology is not accepted," he wrote. "Channel 12 - how much hypocrisy can you display? You mentioned MKs who lost family members, but erased Moshe Feiglin from the picture, even though he lost his grandson, Sgt. Yair Levin."
Braslavski continued: "Or is a fallen soldier from the right not worthy of mention? Why didn't you include Moshe Feiglin? Because he is right-wing, or was it a 'production error'?"
However, social media users pointed out that Braslavski's accusation overlooked the fact that the report also featured Talik Gvili, a Likud MK who lost her son in the war. They argued that her inclusion undermined the claim that Feiglin had been omitted because of his right-wing affiliation.